Abstract:Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811 – 1896) was an American abolitionist and author. Her reputation and the significance owing to her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) have been highly approved and praised by Abraham Lincoln whose classic comment is “this is the little lady who made this big war”.
The success of the book resides not only in its apparent antislavery theme but in its vivid and lifelike portrait of main characters. The novel can be analyzed from two main threads since the apparently opposite characteristics embodied by two stereotypes of characters with the representatives of Uncle Tom and George Harris respectively. Uncle Tom is so obedient and tolerant for any difficulties while George Harris chooses to fight against and struggle for his right and psychological satisfaction. Deeply and authentically thinking a while, the ultimate goal of them is the same—achieving freedom. The differences only are the strategies and accesses they select and decide which actually influenced by religious value, especially the Christianity. This paper will observe the religious foundation, especially the Christian culture and tenets with bible concepts in terms of analyzing the different endings of different characters in the novel with the ultimate purpose of highlighting the religious influence and significance in shaping representative and impressive characters in American literary history.
Key words: Uncle Tom's Cabin freedom religious culture
摘要:《汤姆叔叔的小屋》（Uncle Tom's Cabin，1852）的作者比彻·斯托夫人（Harriet Beecher Stowe，1811-1896）是美国著名的现实主义作家，也是废奴文学的杰出代表。美国总统亚拉伯罕·林肯把她赞誉为“发动南北战争的小妇人”。
《汤姆叔叔的小屋》这部小的成功之处不仅源于它明显的反对奴隶制的主题，更是她深入细致的人物特性的刻画。小说主要刻画了两类代表性的人物，一类是以汤姆为代表的正直、友爱、忠顺极具基督教义的典型特征；另一类是以哈里斯为代表的用于反抗、大胆冒险、追求自由的突出特征。但是细细品味，综合分析这两种看似迥异的性格特征其实源于对同一目的的追求—宗教自由，只是他们选择了不同的实现方式。本文将通过分析小说中这两类的代表性主要人物：以汤姆和伊娃为一类；以乔治·哈里斯和伊莉莎为一类，结合基督宗教信条和圣经观念，从宗教文化影响方面入手分析不同性格形成和不同命运结局的原因，揭示宗教文化在此作品中的不可忽视的作用，说明美国文学历史和小说人物塑造中宗教文化色彩的深远影响。
关键词：汤姆叔叔的小屋 自由 宗教文化
